An Empirical Analysis of the Film, "The Gambler"

Abstract

Pathological gambling has been portrayed by a number of movie-makers around the world, although many of these film representations tend to cast gambling in an innocuous light, often portraying gamblers, largely male, as hero figures (Griffiths, 1989). On the other hand, The Gambler (1974) has dealt entirely with the downside of gambling, and is likely the most in-depth fictional film about the life of a pathological gambler. Consequently, it is appropriate to ask whether the film accurately portrays the "typical" compulsive gambler. The DSM-III (APA, 1980), DSM-III-R (APA, 1987) and DSM-IV (Lesieur & Rosenthal, 1990) criteria for pathological gambling were used to assess the gambling pathology of the film's main character. In addition, further examination of other parts of the film's text and scenarios will be used to examine the film's theoretical perspective and its relevance to contemporary representations of pathological gambling.